Welcome to the Wisdom of the World And Its Meaning for You: Universal Spiritual Insights Distilled from Five Religious Traditions - Hardcover

Chittister, Joan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0802828949 ISBN 13: 9780802828941

Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2007

Synopsis

Best-selling author Joan Chittister in this book brilliantly presents universal spiritual insights distilled from five major religious traditions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Exemplary inspiration from one of the foremost contemporary writers on spirituality. BooklistChittister, a Benedictine nun and prolific author, here turns her attention to a broad range of spiritual authorities and traditions in order to discover and present many models of what it might mean to be a holy person. She wisely avoids any easy answers: spirituality, she assures us, does not permit quick solutions. Chittisters brief chapters and easy, elegant style should captivate and keep many readers. . . . Highly recommended. Library Journal (starred review)Benedictine Sister Joan Chittister . . . is a profound spiritual teacher who manages in this book to convey in very clear and easy-to-understand language the deep truths of the worlds major religious traditions. She brilliantly puts forward her own unique interpretations, which not only bring old truths to life but really reinvigorate them by showing through her own life experience how these perennial insights can give us guidance for our own lives. This book is an embodiment of the spiritual renewal our world so badly needs. TikkunChittister has a talent for writing in a clear manner that is easily grasped. This book is no exception. Her use of storytelling helps readers understand spiritual traditions foreign to our own. We learn that all religions are alike in their search for the ultimate source of spiritual awakening. . . . People of all ages and cultures will profit from this book. LiguorianA probingly helpful guide to lifes most pressing questions. . . . Refreshing. Publishers Weekly (starred review)

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Reviews

Chittister, a Benedictine abbess, popular lecturer and prolific spirituality writer (Called to Question; Transformed by Hope; etc.), returns with a probingly helpful guide to life's most pressing questions. Spurred by letters from fans who often pour out their hearts and seek advice from her, each chapter tackles a separate existential question such as Where is God? or What does it mean to be a spiritual person? She begins each of the 25 chapters with a description of a particular person's struggle to find meaning amid hardship, moving the narrative toward a wisdom story or parable from one of five religious traditions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. A concluding meditation rounds out each section. Ecumenical readers will find that the God that lies behind these stories is acutely aware of human misery and helps us in surprising and meaningful ways. Chittister writes, If the question is, Where is God? The answer is distressingly uncomplicated: God is wherever we know God to be, wherever we bring God to be, no more and no less at any time, anywhere, or in anyone. This refreshing book will be welcomed by Chittister's many admirers and is sure to win new ones as well. (Aug.)
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Although each person is unique and lives in a different time and culture from those of his or her predecessors and successors, Chittister insists that all humans have something in common. Drawing on the stories and heritages of Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, she explores this commonality with great insight and compassion. She discusses specific issues through the prism of particular religious traditions. She looks at aging and letting go of the past with Hindu wisdom; at doing the right thing and the meaning of success with Buddhist enlightenment; at idealism and feeling stuck with Jewish communitarianism; at getting away from it all and the purpose of life with Christian love; and at the existence of God and happiness with Islamic submission. "Life," she says, "is simply the responsibility of each of us to make our own contribution to the on-going co-creation of the world." Exemplary inspiration from one of the foremost contemporary writers on spirituality. Sawyers, June

Edition details

• Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0802828949
• ISBN 13: 9780802828941
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208